Date: 30 November 2014
Time: 4:58

The two of us with Michael, who completed his 522nd marathon at this event.

The rather small field shortly before the start.

And away we fly!

In the streets of Upper Hutt.

HHH signage on the sidewalk.

The course took in some interesting urban features.

Water station #3.

It takes all sorts: a Kiwi doing his 178th, an ex-Saffer on 20 and a visiting Brit completing his second marathon.

A lovely little off road stretch next to the Hutt River.

Gerry making the most of the trail.

Enjoying the off-road stretch away from traffic.

Gerry still going strong at about the 19km mark.

For a city marathon, the race included quite a diverse range of scenery.

My favourite outfit!

High-fives all round.

Out of town into the farming area.

Halfway!

Having a laugh with other amazing runners – Mel being on 117 marathons.

We may be the rookies in this field, but we had loads of fun.

Another great outfit in the spirit of Michael’s trade-mark speedo.

Running into Michael on our way back for a quick hug.

Next to the river coming back.

Hungry anyone?

More HHH signage both ways.

Look for trains!

Water station #1 (also the last one on the way back).

Only a few more metres.

The finish between the two cones, right where we started.

Prize-giving.

Gerry and I were both lucky draw winners!

A great idea to use recycled medals from the Dunedin marathon. 🙂

List of participants in the early start.

List of participants in the medium paced group.

The list of fast runners.

The Flying Pink marathon is the brainchild of Michael Stewart – the man who’s done the most marathons in the Southern Hemisphere.

After running into Michael at the Rotorua marathon earlier this year, I was curious to hear his story. His characteristic pink speedo and the sheepskin padding on his backpack is hard to miss. I’m sure there’s not a runner in NZ who doesn’t know of his achievements, but to me, he was (and still is, to a certain extent) a stranger. All I overheard in a short conversation with a fellow runner coming past, was that the Rotorua was his 515th or some such number marathon. I thought my hearing must have failed me during this bit of accidental eavesdropping as I could not believe that anyone could have achieved such a feat!

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